Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-15030

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many European language graduates from Scottish institutions had found employment in the (a) business services, (b) wholesale and retail, (c) manufacturing, (d) banking and finance and (e) transport and communications sector six months after graduation in the latest year for which information is available.

The statistics are presented in the following table.

Full-Time Higher Education Graduates Gaining Employment Six Months After Graduation from Scottish Institutions by Industry of Employer and Subject Studied (%): 2005-06

	Total	Banking and Finance	Business Services	Manufacturing	Transport and Communication	Wholesale and Retail	Other Industry
Total	100%	21%	29%	15%	18%	5%	12%
French	100%	24%	28%	17%	16%	5%	10%
German	100%	24%	24%	16%	18%	3%	16%
Spanish	100%	20%	20%	15%	17%	7%	20%
Italian	100%	23%	43%	10%	3%	10%	10%
Other European Language	100%	15%	32%	12%	26%	5%	11%

Source: Higher education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

Note: The overall response rate, including both HESA and SFC data, for the subject groups in the above table was 78%.

Question reference: S3W-15078

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected population of Dundee in 2018 is, broken down into (a) men aged 16 to 64 and (b) women aged 16 to 59.

The most recent, 2006-based, population projections can be found on the General Register Office for Scotland website using the following link:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/popproj/06pop-proj-scottishareas/index.html

These show that the projected population of Dundee City in 2018 is 137,597 and that this includes (a) 41,138 men aged 16 to 64 and (b) 40,443 women aged 16 to 59.

Question reference: S3W-15114

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the increased winter mortality (a) figures and (b) index were for 2007-08 for (i) Scotland and (ii) each NHS board area, also broken down into age groups (A) 0 to 64, (B) 65 to74, (C) 75 to 84 and (D) 85 and over.

The information requested is not available at present, because it is necessary to compare the number of deaths in the four “winter” months (December to March) with those in the four subsequent months, which have just finished. The information will be published by the General Register Office for Scotland in October 2008, and will then be available, along with the corresponding figures for some earlier years, at:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/increased-winter-mortality/index.html.

Question reference: S3W-15032

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) employment, (b) unemployment and (c) further study or training rates were six months after graduation for graduates in (i) French, (ii) German, (iii) Spanish, (iv) Italian and (v) other European languages from Scottish institutions in the latest year for which information is available.

The statistics the member requested are shown in the following table.

Destination of Full-Time Higher Education Graduates from Scottish Institutions Six Months after Graduating by Subject Area (%): 2005-06

	Total	Study/Training	Permanent Home Employment	Temporary Home Employment	Overseas Employment	Believed Unemployed	Other
Total	100%	21%	29%	15%	18%	5%	12%
French	100%	24%	28%	17%	16%	5%	10%
German	100%	24%	24%	16%	18%	3%	16%
Spanish	100%	20%	20%	15%	17%	7%	20%
Italian	100%	23%	43%	10%	3%	10%	10%
Other European Language	100%	15%	32%	12%	26%	5%	11%

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

Notes:

“Believed unemployed” includes graduates from higher education institutions that are looking for employment, further study or training or are due to start a job in the next month plus graduates from FEC who have no arrangement for further study or employment.

“Other” destinations include those who are unable to work, looking after the home or family, taking time out in order to travel, or are not otherwise included under an alternative heading.

The overall response rate, including both HESA and SFC data, for the subject groups in the above table was 78%.

Question reference: S3W-15026

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 July 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many epilepsy nurse specialists there are in (a) NHS Tayside and (b) Scotland, shown on a (i) whole-time equivalent and (ii) headcount basis.

Question reference: S3W-14105

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 29 July 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it now proposes to take to bring jobs to Dundee, in view of the decision by Norwich Union to relocate 350 jobs from its Dundee office to its Perth office.

We have pledged to make Scotland a more investment-ready country by lowering the tax burden and adjusting regulatory policies for both indigenous and overseas companies.

In addition to these measures, Dundee benefits from a number of key assets; excellent education facilities, high-end life science and digital technology industry sectors, location and connectivity. The opportunities for the city to flourish are considerable, and we continue to work with the local authority and others to ensure that these opportunities are fully exploited.

Question reference: S3W-14897

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 July 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the core allocation to the Dundee Science Centre will be in each financial year to 2011-12, also expressed in real terms.

The core allocation for each of the years requested is given in the following table:

Year	Core allocation £ million	Value in real terms (at 2007-08 prices) £ million
2008-09	0.2	0.194
2009-10	0.228	0.216
2010-11	0.26	0.24

Question reference: S3W-14896

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 July 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the core allocation to the Dundee Science Centre was in the most recent full financial year for which figures are available and what percentage of the centre’s income this represented.

The core allocation from the Scottish Government to Dundee Science Centre for the financial year 2007-08 was £160,300.

The accounting year for the Dundee Science Centre runs from 1 January to 31 December. It is not possible, therefore, to match the grant paid by the Scottish Government in a given financial year to the Centre’s income for the same period. However, in its statutory accounts to 31 December 2007 the Centre recorded £125,750 core grant from the Scottish Government against a turnover of £879,240 (excluding capital funding). On the basis of these figures the Scottish Government grant represents around 14% of the Centre’s total funding.

Question reference: S3W-14297

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 16 July 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed in Dundee in (a) 2000 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by employment sector.

Information on the number of employee jobs by industry is collected each year from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). Table 1 shows the number of employee jobs in Dundee City by industry sector. The most recent year for which data is available is 2006.

The reference date for the ABI in the most recent year was changed from December to September so data for 2006 is not directly comparable with data for 2000.

Table 1: Employee Jobs by Industry, Dundee City, 2000 and 2006

Industry	2000	2006
A: Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry	*	*
B: Fishing	*	*
C: Mining and Quarrying	*	*
D: Manufacturing	11,100	8,600
E: Electricity, Gas and Water Supply	*	*
F: Construction	3,300	4,200
G: Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles, Motorcycles and Personal and Household Goods	12,500	13,000
H: Hotels and Restaurants	4,300	4,800
I: Transport, Storage and Communication	2,800	3,000
J: Financial Intermediation	2,200	2,400
K: Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities	5,500	7,800
L: Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	5,400	4,200
M: Education	8,900	8,100
N: Health and Social Work	10,900	14,000
O: Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities	3,600	3,800
P: Private Households with Employed Persons	*	*
Q: Extra-Territorial Organisation and Bodies	*	*
All Industries**	71,000	73,900

Source: Annual Business Inquiry

Notes:

1. Data for 2006 is not consistent with previous years.

2. These data are based on employee jobs rather than people in employment i.e. one person may have more than one job. They do not include self employed jobs.

3. Data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

4. ABI data are workplace based.

*Data suppressed as confidential.

**Total for “All Industries” are aggregates from which agriculture class 0100 (1992 SIC) have been excluded.

Question reference: S3W-14294

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 16 July 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many, and what percentage of, people were claiming unemployment -related benefits in each council ward in Dundee City Council at the most recent date for which figures are available.

The claimant count gives the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits and is produced by the Office for National Statistics.

Table 1 shows the number of unemployed people claiming unemployment related benefits in each council ward in Dundee City Council and also the number of unemployed people as a proportion of the resident working-age population in each ward. The latest data available are for May 2008.

Table 1: Claimant Count Unemployment for Wards in Dundee City, May 2008

% of Resident Working-Age Population who are Unemployed

Ward	Total Claimants
Ardler	85	4.1%
Balgay	75	2.5%
Balgillo	28	0.7%
Balgowan	141	4.2%
Barnhill	39	1.4%
Baxter Park	104	3.3%
Bowbridge	151	5.3%
Brackens	122	3.5%
Broughty Ferry	34	1.2%
Camperdown	154	4.9%
Claverhouse	95	3.1%
Craigiebank	61	2.8%
Douglas	185	5.8%
East Port	139	4.3%
Fairmuir	116	4.4%
Hilltown	190	5.3%
Law	149	4.3%
Lochee East	121	4.7%
Lochee West	149	6.0%
Logie	79	2.6%
Longhaugh	197	5.5%
Ninewells	117	3.7%
Pitkerro	214	6.4%
Riverside	31	0.9%
Stobswell	178	6.2%
Strathmartine	71	2.4%
Tay Bridges	117	2.2%
West Ferry	19	0.7%
Whitfield	138	6.0%
Dundee City	3,299	3.7%

Source: Office for National Statistics.

	NHS Tayside	Scotland
Whole-Time Equivalent	2.0	15.0
Head Count	2	16